Luci Tapahonso
American | ethnicity = Navajo | occupation = writer, academic | period = | genre = | subject = | notableworks = | influences = | influenced = | spouse = | website = }} Luci Tapahonso (born November 8, 1953) is a Navajo American poet.Luci Tapahonso, Voices from the Gaps, university of Minnesota. Web, Mar. 19, 2015. She is a lecturer in Native American studies. Life Youth and education Born on the Navajo Indian reservation, to Eugene Tapahonso (Tódichʼíinii) and Lucille Tapahonso (Áshįįhí), Luci Tapahonso was raised in a traditional way along with 11 siblings. English was not spoken on the family farm, and Tapahonso learned it as a 2nd tongue after her native Navajo. Following schooling at Navajo Methodist School in Farmington, New Mexico, and Shiprock High School, she began studies at the University of New Mexico (UNM). There she met novelist and poet Leslie Marmon Silko, a faculty member who proved to be an important influence on Tapahonso's early writing. In 1982, Tapahonso gained a M.A.. Career She went on to teach, initially at UNM, later at the University of Kansas, and then at the University of Arizona. Tapahonso's debut collection of poetry, assembled when she was still an undergraduate, was published in 1981, but did not make much impact. Her 1993 collection Saánii Dahataal (the women are singing), written in Navajo and English, was the first to gain her an international reputation, a reputation then cemented by 1997's blue horses rush in. Several more collections followed, as well as many individual poems which have been anthologised in others' collections, activist literature, and writing in magazines. Writing Following Silko's lead, Tapahonso's early work is often mystical and places much importance on the idea of the feminine as a source of power and balance in the world. She also frequently uses her family and childhood friends in her poetry. Tapahonso's writing is self-translated from original work she has created in her tribe's native tongue. Her Navajo work includes original songs and chants designed for performance. For this reason, her English work is strongly rhythmic and uses syntactical structures unusual in English-language poetry. Recognition In April 2013, Tapahonso became the first Poet Laureate of the Navajo Nation..Luci Tapahonso Named as Navajo Nation's First Poet Laureate, Indian Country, April 30, 2013. Web, May 4, 2013. Awards * Lifetime Achievement Award, Native Writers' Circle of the Americas, 2006 * Wordcraft Circle Storyteller of the Year (Readings/Performance) Award, 1999 * Award for Best Poetry from the Mountains and Plain's Booksellers Association, 1998 * New Mexico Eminent Scholar award, New Mexico Commission of Higher Education, 1989 * Excellent Instructor Award, U. of New Mexico, 1985 *Southwestern Association of Indian Affairs Literature Fellowship, 1981 Publications Poetry * One More Shiprock Night: Poems. San Antonio, TX: Tejas Art Press, 1981. * Seasonal Woman (illustrated by R.C. Gorman; with introduction by John Treadwell Nicholls). Santa Fe, NM: Tooth of Time, 1982. *''A Breeze Swept Through'' (illustrated by Jaune Quick-to-See Smith). Albuquerque, NM: West End Press, 1987. *''Sáanii Dahataal = The Women Are Singing: Poems and stories''. Tucson, AZ: University of Arizona Press, 1993. *''Blue Horses Rush in: Poems and Stories''. Tucson, AZ: University of Arizona Press, 1997. *''A Radiant Curve: Poems and stories''. Tucson, AZ: University of Arizon Press, 2008. Juvenile *''Bah's Baby Brother Is Born'' (illustrated by Sam English). Washington, DC: National Organization on Fetal Alcohol Syndrome, 1993. *''Navajo ABC: A Diné alphabet book'' (illustrated by Eleanor Schick). New York: Macmillan, 1995. *''Songs of Shiprock Fair'' (illustrated by Anthony Chee Emerson). Walnut, CA: Kiva, 1999. Except where noted, bibliographical information courtesy WorldCat.Search results = au:Luci Tapahonso, WorldCat, OCLC Online Computer Library Center Inc. Web, Mar. 19, 2015. See also *Native American poets *List of U.S. poets References External links ;Poems *"She Says" *"Hard to Take" ;Audio / video *Luci Tapahonso at YouTube ;Books *Luci Tapahonso at Amazon.com ;About *Luci Tapahonso at Voices from the Gaps - includes bio, further links *Luci Tapahonso, 1953- at Internet Public Library - Native American Authors Project *Luci Tapahonso: Native American poet at Native American Authors. *Luci Tapahonso Official website *"The Navajo Nation’s First Poet Laureate, Luci Tapahonso interview at the Poetry Foundation Category:1953 births Category:Living people Category:American poets Category:MacArthur Fellows Category:Native American writers Category:Native American children's writers Category:Writers from New Mexico Category:Navajo people Category:20th-century poets Category:20th-century women writers Category:21st-century women writers Category:American women writers Category:English-language poets Category:Native American poets Category:Poets Category:Poets Laureate of the Navajo Nation Category:Women poets